What you eat for breakfast has a HUGE impact on how much fat you burn the rest of the day. Because certain foods can either turn ON or OFF your body’s most powerful fat burning hormones. So, which foods should you eat and which should you avoid to burn belly fat all day? Find out here:

Only These 2 Restaurants Rated A for Antibiotic-Free Meat, Many Other Major Chains Failed Miserably

A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council along with its allies Friends of the Earth, Consumers Union, Food Animal Concerns Trust, and Center for Food Safety came out this past September with a new report on reducing the rate of antibiotic use in meat supply used by popular restaurant chains.

The six organizations reviewed and rated 25 U.S. fast-food and fast-casual restaurants in the United States along with their overall transparency within each company’s meat and poultry supply chains.

Continuing a trend that began since the first such survey in 2015, most restaurants failed miserably, with 11 major chain restaurants rating an “F” according to the report card and 6 others rating a “D” or “D+.”

Thankfully, two major (and fast-growing) chain restaurants, Chipotle and Panera Bread, received grades of “A” for their commitment to removing antibiotics from their meat (see full list below).

While the report adds that some major chains, including one popular fast food chicken restaurant, have made major strides in the past few years, there is still much work to be done in this and other areas if humanity is to tackle the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance.

And while antibiotics in food are just one piece to the puzzle, they’re an important one — especially when it comes to the intersection of personal health and the health of the environment.

Antibiotic Resistance is a Serious Problem

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)defines antibiotic resistance as the ability of microbes to adapt and resists the effects of drugs/antibiotics. Annually, about 2 million people become sick with antibiotic resistant bacteria and at least 23,000 die as a result. When livestock receives antibiotics, it often develops antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the animals’ guts. When cooked or handled incorrectly the bacteria can cause an illness in the consumer.

According to the CDC, a lot of antibiotic use in animals is unnecessary. There is a link between antibiotic use in animals and antibiotic-resistance infections in humans, therefore it is important to only use antibiotics in food-producing animals if absolutely necessary to treat a disease and not to “promote growth,” states CDC.

Antibiotic Use in Livestock for Growth

Antibiotics have been used to promote growth in farm animals since the 1940s, and it is taking a while to eradicate this controversial practice, according to Michigan State University. In 2013 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration set a plan to eliminate certain antibiotics in food production and promote antibiotic use only when it’s medically necessary. Unfortunately, the plan was implemented on a voluntary basis, and it does not look like many meat producers followed it.

Restaurants’ Meat: Antibiotic-free or not?

The questionnaire for the report asks restaurants if they have a policy about antibiotic use in meat supply, if they prohibit all antibiotic use for growth promotion, or if they prohibit only antibiotics that are also used in human medicine. The restaurants were asked if the policy applies to all meat, only poultry, or only pork or beef. Other questions inquired whether the restaurants offered any 100% grass-fed beef or organic items.

The responses were analyzed and graded on a scale. Only two restaurants got an “A”, six other restaurants passed with a “B” or a “C”, and 11 restaurants received an “F.” (six also rated “D”).

Despite the urgency of the situation, things do appear to be looking up as the number of companies passing has risen each year, from 5 in 2015 to 9 in 2016. This year was yet another improvement.

“As of September 2017, 14 out of the 25 largest U.S. fast food chains—more than half those surveyed— had adopted publicly available policies that phase out routine use (for growth promotion and disease prevention) of medically important antibiotics in some or all of their meat and poultry supply,” the report said.

Still, it’s important to avoid the worst offenders as much as possible, especially considering the high number of popular restaurants that still received failing grades. See the chart below for more information.

Rated A: Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread

Chipotle’s policy prohibits all antibiotic use — for disease prevention and for growth. In this year’s report it was noted that some type of grass-fed beef is served in over half of its supply.

Panera Bread also reported most of all of its beef served in sandwiches or salads is grass-fed.

“Chipotle and Panera continue to set the bar for the industry, given their full implementation of long-standing policies prohibiting or limiting antibiotics use across nearly all of their supply chains. They remain the only companies to earn ‘A’s in the Scorecard,” the report states.

Rated B+: Subway

Subway has always been seen as one of the healthier chain restaurants, but activists have attempted to poke holes in that image in recent years, pointing out questionable ingredients such as the now-removed “yoga mat” chemical as well as GMO ingredients and antibiotics in its meat supply.

The company has (mostly) gotten the memo and has begun making changes, starting in the area of antibiotics.

As the report notes:

“Subway is the only company with a no-antibiotics policy across its entire meat and poultry supply chain. During this past year, Subway achieved sourcing 100 percent of its chicken as raised without antibiotics and is working towards accomplishing this goal for turkey by 2019. It has a very long timeline for implementing its commitments on beef and pork, however, promising to do so by 2025. Subway earned a ‘B+.’”

Rated B: Chick-fil-A

According to the report, Chick-fil-A states that 70% of its chicken supply will be raised without antibiotics by the end of 2017, and its entire supply chain will meet this goal by the year 2019. Be careful when eating here, however, as the company’s food offerings contain plenty of questionable additives.

Other Companies to Be Aware Of:

While it would be wise for any health conscious consumer to avoid companies like McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Wendy’s, it is worth noting the progress they’ve made on antibiotic-free chicken.

Any customer ordering chicken from McDonald’s and Taco Bell are likely to receive a product free from the routine use of antibiotics. Wendy’s says about 50 percent of the chicken it sells meets this standard, and virtually all of it will be antibiotic-free by the end of 2017.

Despite these strides being made, standards for beef and pork are lagging far behind, the reported noted, and that’s a serious problem considering how widely used antibiotics are on these products. See the full report for more details and brand-specific commitments.

These companies all received failing grades, and are best to be avoided for the foreseeable future.

All of them serve food that is likely to be packed full of GMO ingredients, antibiotics in meat, and plenty of potentially unhealthy and unnatural additives. While the number of restaurants receiving a failing grade has dropped since the 20 that were recorded in 2015’s inaugural report, it’s clear that these companies have not done their part to listen to the concerns of consumers and health advocates.

Be sure to share this information with anyone who still eats at these restaurants, and do your part to support the companies that continue to lead the way as best as you possibly can.

11 pounds in 22 days?

baking soda

Is it REALLY possible to lose 11 lbs. of fat in 22 days? Actually yes… BUT only when you’re a level 4 fat burner. Unfortunately, most people are stuck as level 1 fat burners. So, how do you become a level 4 fat burner to lose up to 11 lbs. in 22 days? Simply eat these foods daily:

PS - Studies show that not only can healthy levels of this powerful calorie-burning hormone devour bodyfat and fortify soft muscle, but it can also reduce your risk of diabetes by 53.7%, a heart attack by 83.3% and stroke by 51.4%. Here's more of the scientific proof...

But there is a lot of confusion as to where bread fits into a healthy diet.

The Bible practically commands followers to eat it: “Give us this day our daily bread…” The government put it at the base of the food pyramid. And for centuries, it has been called “the staff of life.”

The average American consumes 55 pounds of wheat flour every year, making refined flour the #1 source of calories in the American Diet – a situation that nutrition expert Chris Kresser describes as, “a public health catastrophe.”

Do You Know Your Body’s Most Important Weight Loss Secret?

Recently, Doctor of Naturopathy, weight-loss expert and best-selling Amazon author Liz Swann Miller, creator of the Red Smoothie Detox Factor, revealed 2 of the secrets to easy, steady weight loss. Secrets the big food corporations do their best to hide from us.

Secret #1: Enjoy real food. Don’t fall for the lie that you have to deprive yourself to lose weight.

Secret #2: stop eating out. You will automatically eat less without even noticing.

Then start detoxing your body with tasty, nourishing smoothies that are just as easy on your wallet as they are easy to make.

Because a single day of enjoying Liz’ smoothies demonstrated the radical power of her superfood-packed red smoothies to make me feel incredibly good.

Now prepare yourself for one of the biggest weight loss secrets there is. A secret that, when you use it properly, can transform your body and your health.

You probably know most of us eat too much processed food. What you may not know is that it’s full of toxic chemicals and substandard, dirt-cheap ingredients designed to make you eat more…and force you to gain weight.

Here’s how it works.

“That stuff is just a lot of calories your body can’t use,” Liz told me, “Some are poison. And all these foods are stripped of the anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories that help your body detox. The result? Your body expends huge amounts of calories to eliminatesome toxins—the rest, it stores in your fat to protect you. This is why most people are hungry all the time. They’re not getting energy they need.”

“So… what’s going on with me? Why am I losing weight but not going hungry?”

Liz paused, then dropped the bombshell.

Your body is designed to burn fat. You just have to let it.

“What? I thought we were designed to store fat?!?” We were Skyping and I was practically shouting. Then I heard Liz say…

What good is a fat reserve if you can’t burn it?

Mind blown.

Liz continued: “You’re drinking smoothies packed with phytonutrients, anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories that pull toxins out of you like a tractor beam. Allowing your body to burn those toxin-filled fat stores… and releasing tremendous amounts of stored energy.”

So that’s why I’m losing weight without going hungry.

Watch Liz’ free presentation. It’s packed with revolutionary weight loss information—information that works. Because it’s based on how nature.

Click the button only if you want to wear smaller clothes, breathe easier, move more freely and just plain feel better.

Because until now, the Red Smoothie Detox Factor has been available only to Liz’ private clients. But now that she’s perfected it to work for almost everyone, almost every time, Liz is sharing it with rest of us so we can feel better and look better.

Because Liz offers a ridiculously good guarantee. You have 60 days to decide you love the Red Smoothie Detox Factor. If you don’t love it—for any reason, or even no reason at all —Liz will refund your money. 100%. No questions asked.

2)Forget what you've read about 10-day lemonade cleanses, 7-day detoxes with green juices and Gwyneth's gruel. All you need to do, and this is perfect for Saturday or or anytime really, is a simple 1-day cleanse.

Nick Meyer is an independent health researcher and journalist and the founder of AltHealthWORKS. Nick's mission is to "tell the many incredible stories of the growing holistic and natural health community, stories that had slipped through the cracks of the traditional media." He's been cited by Dr. Joseph Mercola of Mercola.com and published on the website of The Cornucopia Institute. Nick has also written several books for the Amazon Kindle covering important health topics, which can be viewed here.
Nick is currently offering eatlocalgrown readers a free copy of his e-book 'Healing Secrets of the Amazon Rainforest.'